Another OTBer told me today her old coach used to tell her that it takes 5 weeks to start noticing you can hang in the races better. Then suddenly, your pain threshold increases and those efforts that made you wheeze, struggle, gasp and heave yourself up start to become less painful. Well this weekend marked 4 out of 5 - so if all is going according to plan, April should be a much better month for the old Juicer.
Need I remind you it's still March.
We (Liz, Brook and I) showed up at 8:30 to 33 degree weather. A fog enveloped the entire valley. Fun times! 3 laps of a 19.5 mile loop with two significant hills (not long, just steep) with a rewarding and fun downhill and then open roads through the country that surround Rochester, WA. Something about those downhills and pushing the limits gets me giddy like a school girl!
We had a good showing of ladies - maybe due to the fact that this is the only race on the NW calendar this weekend - or maybe they are starting to think it's time to start racing. We rode with the Master A/B men again - which meant a "neutral" slog up the first hill - but ended up tearing my legs off. I made it almost up the second hill and just couldn't latch on to the swiftly descending group. Add on lots of little rollers, wind and other groups and you have yourself a good mental workout! Luckily I had some company this time - and we both agreed it's early season and we're just where we need to be to finish it up strong. Which boasts nothing for the ego now - but putting a huge deposit down for sometime in the future. Paying your dues, if you will.
Oi, that one hurt. But I'm okay with it. You begin to tolerate mediocrity when you know there's a means to the end. Just a little taste of speed, just a small dose of candy, makes you perk up and eager for the next ass whopping. Bring it.
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